Community, Farming and Food Soverignty
For the past decade I've been interested in Community as an alternative to living in a mainstream society. The fringe is where the best ideas are and in community we can explore
Permaculture (Permanent Agriculture) often viewed as a set of gardening techniques, has in fact developed into a whole design philosophy, and some people regard it as a philosophy for life. Its central theme is the creation of human systems which provide for human needs, using many natural elements and drawing inspiration from natural ecosystems.
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Permaculture tackles how to grow food, build houses and create communities, and minimize environmental impact at the same time. Its principles are being constantly developed and refined by people throughout the world in very different climates and cultural circumstances.
Biointensive farming is an organic system of agriculture, where farmers focus on achieving the maximum yields, from the existing limited pieces of land, while at the same time, increasing biodiversity as well as maintaining sustainability and fertility of the soil. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, for instance, estimates that only 11% (1.4 billion hectares) of the world’s land surface is used for crop production.
It is also speculated that there is no more, or at least very little land to bring under cultivation. Therefore, this means the world population has to use the little available land to produce more, leading to bio-intensive farming. The farming method’s objective is sustainability on a closed system basis.
It works with the basic elements needed for healthy crops and growth, which is the sun, soil, air and water, to achieve maximum yields, while at the same time increasing biodiversity and the fertility of the soil.